As an assignment submission for “Environmental Challenges” course with The University of Leeds through Futurelearn I decided to look at the situation in Lebanon, including the issues surrounding the wider Palestinian/Israeli conflict . This is a very complex conflict so I do not expect a 500 (669) word opinion to provide a solution.
There are four areas that impact on conflict and conflict resolution and transformation.
Personal – the person as an individual human being.
We know from this week’s videos and readings that the peoples of Lebanon do not feel secure in their environment and they do not trust the existing form of government to provide them with the security normally expected from one’s Country. This mistrust has percolated through their relationships with each other and those in neighbouring States. I know from conversations with both Palestinian and Israeli friends and colleagues that individually they would prefer a peaceful co-existence but that current structures do not lend themselves to this.
The object of a Conflict Transformation process is to change this and begin to build an environment of trust and mutual respect among all the peoples of the region.
Relational – communication and relationships.
The root cause of all conflict is the absence of meaningful communication between the conflicted. In order for a resolution to have any chance of success it will be necessary to construct an effective communication system that is impartial and transparent. It will also be necessary to develop new structures within which relationships can develop in a spirit respect, trust and a feeling of a worthwhile common goal.
Structural – root causes of conflict and mechanisms that will promote peace.
The conflict in this immediate region of the Middle East has two strands, ancient, historic and religious and more recently the creation of the State of Israel and the displacement of the Palestinian peoples. This is exacerbated by the involvement of former Colonial interests and the more modern American and Russian proxy power plays. To resolve these root causes will need a two pronged process
- Mechanisms that will allow the peoples of the region to have freedom to practice their religion, to work together to promote region wide economic growth and a peaceful and clean environment in which to live and raise their families
- International Agreement by the major powers to support these mechanisms and to guarantee the security of the total region and not just their preferred sections within the region
Cultural – the cultural patterns that contribute to conflict and the cultural setting for dealing with conflict.
The biggest area of cultural conflict in the region is religion and the cultural mechanisms that have been constructed to continue to allow the peoples of the region to identify exclusively with their particular belief structure. i.e. “Confessions” Considering that all of the religions profess belief in the same God and are based on some version of “Love thy Neighbour as thyself” A mechanism for allowing all people of religion or none to practice their beliefs in mutual respect for each other must be part of the solution.
How to turn the above observations into reality.
Declare Lebanon and Israel, including the disputed regions, and Jordon/Palestine as a common region for the promotion of something similar to the four freedoms that currently form the backbone of The European Union Policy http://www.europeanpolicy.org/en/european-policies/single-market.html
This does not mean loss of Sovereignty for any of the existing states just an agreement to share responsibility for promoting the economic and cultural development of the region. Soft instead of hard borders.
Under the control of the UN, the global powers currently involved in protecting their preferred section of the region, guarantee the autonomy of the whole region and commit to promoting and protecting the four freedoms.
A regional constitution constructed under the auspices of the UN to include an article that not only offers each religion, or their variants, complete freedom of worship but promotes the concept of tolerance of difference, based on the unique position the region has as the birthplace of the three main Monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
While researching the above came across this very interesting article. “What does Islam and the Quran say about loving your neighbour” http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/What-Islam-says-about-loving-thy-neighbor